UEFA fines Manchester United, Barcelona over financial fair play rules
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UEFA has fined Manchester United, Barcelona, and a collection of other clubs over breaches in financial fair play rules in the 2022-2023 football season.
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Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder Casemiro (L) challenges Barcelona's Polish forward Robert Lewandowski for the ball during the UEFA Europa League knockout play-offs match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, February 23, 2023 (AFP)
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) fined a multitude of football clubs for breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules in the 2022-2023 football season.
The two giants, Manchester United and FC Barcelona, were among those clubs targeted by the football governing organization.
The Red Devils received a fine of €300,000 for not breaking even in the previous season while Barcelona were fined €500,000 for including profits from intangible assets in their financial papers, which are not accounted for under UEFA's regulations.
United responded to the news by putting out a statement that read, "While disappointed by the outcome, Manchester United accepts this fine for what Uefa acknowledges to be a minor technical breach of its previous financial fair play rules."
"This reflected a change in the way that Uefa adjusted for Covid-19 losses during the 2022 reporting period, which allowed us to recognise only €15m of the €281m of revenues lost due to the pandemic within the FFP calculation."
"Post-pandemic, the club’s revenues have recovered strongly and are forecast to reach a record level in the current financial year."
The FFP law was put in place in 2010 to limit disproportional spending in European football clubs. The rules push clubs to hold back on expenditure by limiting losses to $30 million over a 3-year period.
The past season is the last in which the regulation will be applied, as UEFA seeks to introduce new licensing and sustainability regulations over the upcoming seasons.
Other big-name clubs including Inter Milan, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Roma, and Marseille dodged the sanctions after sticking to targets that they previously negotiated with UEFA in a settlement.
However, the Belgian club Royal Antwerp and Turkish Trabzonspor were subject to the largest fines as they both suffered a $2 million euro sanction.
